Christina Aguilera Says She Left Her Husband To Save Son Max From Seeing Their Fights

“Things were so unhappy and unhealthy,” says Christina of the hell her home life had become.

Christina Aguilera has finally revealed the reason behind her sudden split from husband Jordan Bratman, telling Peoplemagazine she had to extract herself from the increasingly unhealthy relationship to save her 2-year-old son, Max, from needless suffering. “I knew I had to end it,” she says. “It wasn’t good for Max to witness our arguments.”

In the candid new interview, Christina provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her deeply unhappy household. While out in public, the couple seemed like a Hollywood dream come true, but at home the couple’s relationship had turned into a nightmare. “We were great for the first year after Max was born,” she reveals. “Then things turned.”

It took getting away from Jordan and going on location to film Burlesque to open Christina’s eyes to just how bad things had become in her family life. When she returned, she realized that her taste of independence had shown her that “things didn’t feel right in my own home,” she says now. “We just weren’t right for each other. I couldn’t face living another five years being unhappy.”

As a child of divorce herself, Christina knew what she would have to make the same painful decision her own mother had been forced to make in order to provide a happier home for her young son. “It’s not good for kids to grow up with constant arguments,” she says. “Children can feel when things aren’t right… I knew that Max would benefit from us separating.”

She admits that there are lasting emotional scars from her own parents’ divorce that she is hoping to have saved her son from experiencing: “There’s guilt. There’s shame.” And in the end she hopes to have made the best decision for Max’s emotional well-being. “I strongly believe it’s better to have two homes filled with love than one home filled with tension,” she says.

In the weeks since she left Jordan, Christina has been spotted out in New York City and Los Angeles with Matthew Rutler, a production assistant she met on the set of Burlesque. And how is little Max faring since the split? “We say, ‘Tomorrow is Daddy’s day’ or ‘Tomorrow is Mommy’s day.’ I squeeze him a little harder, give more kisses.” But possibly most telling is Christina’s response when asked about her own state of mind since she split with Jordan: “I keep my tears away from my son.”